Government Steps Up E-Rate Probe

Updated July 14, 2003 8:29 p.m. ET

Rep. Billy Tauzin (R., La.) has stepped up a congressional probe of contracts obtained by SBC Communications Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and others to wire the nation's schools for the Internet. Mr. Tauzin and Rep. James Greenwood (R., R-Pa.) sent letters to 15 companies asking for more information to assist a review being conducted by a House Commerce Committee panel. The letter doesn't directly allege any wrongdoing by the companies. The focus of the investigation is whether contractors "collaborated with schools in order to get money they may not be eligible for," according to Mr....